Health reporter Warren Manger goes back to the drawing board with the University Hospital doctor whose ideas could transform bone surgery and make the NHS millions.

If necessity is the mother of invention that would probably make Richard King the midwife.

The Coventry surgeon has already delivered two ground-breaking ideas aimed at taking orthopaedics (bone care) to new heights.

His first brainchild was a simple device to measure hip joints more accurately, making sure surgeons do not run into any unexpected problems during a replacement.

This was quickly followed by a revolutionary plastic splint to hold broken bones in place as they mend.

Both creations have sparked excitement from top medical firms, who believe they will change the way doctors work around the globe.

And if the designs do prove a hit they could earn Richard and University Hospital a pretty penny.

NHS accountants must be overjoyed at the prospect of not one but two golden geese ready to lay the road to financial recovery for them.

Yet Richard seems astonishingly laid-back about the whole idea.

“It’s never really been about the royalties,” he shrugs.

“Obviously if the wrist splint goes round the world that would involve a big deal and it’s good to know the hospital will get a percentage.”

Richard’s back-burner career as an inventor began less than two years ago after he moved to Coventry.

Like many of medicine’s great innovators he starts by identifying a common problem and sets out in search of a solution, rather than waiting for inspiration to strike indiscriminately like lightning.

Take for example Richard’s new plastic (rather than the traditional plaster) cast for broken wrists.

For decades the NHS has made plaster its tool of choice for fixing broken bones, but there are a few cases when it’s just not up to the job.

Richard explains: “It can be like trying to mend a broke vase with Sellotape rather than gluing it.”

“After a week you find the plaster is a bit loose because the swelling has gone down and as a result the bones have moved out of place.”

Richard’s solution was to design a plastic splint which clips around the arm and contracts as the swelling disappears so it continues to hold the broken bones firm.

In theory it should be much more reliable than a plaster cast. But this remains to be proven in practice.

The 38-year-old wasn’t able to make a working prototype himself so had to patent the idea and wait for a keen company to do that for him.

“At the moment the theory is sound. But we have to be able to show that it reduces the number of times the bone moves out of place.”

As a result Richard’s other idea – Kingmark – is much more advanced and his stunningly simple prototype has proved a big hit with colleagues.

Senior surgeon Steve Krikler even refuses to conduct a hip replacement unless the size of the patient’s joint has been measured using Kingmark.

It has made radiographer Caroline Harrison’s job easier too – gone are the years of fiddling about between patients’ legs to position a metal ball as an unreliable hip marker.

Kingmark consists of a board containing a line of metal markers which act like a ruler when X-rayed.

Patients lie on the board and have a string of small steel balls placed on their lower abdomen.

Together these help the surgeon to accurately judge the scale of the X-ray and the size of the hip joint, making sure they have the right sized replacement ready.

“You wouldn’t set out on a road trip without a sat-nav or a map – why should we prepare any less for a hip operation,” Richard enthuses.

Not only is the Kingmark accurate but it should also be cheap enough for all hospitals to afford, even in these troubled times.

It has been patented with the help of Warwick Ventures at Warwick University and is being manufactured by Voyant Health. Interest is so high that Richard has already been asked to adapt it for the American market.

When seeking a solution Richard’s Eureka moments can strike at any time – at work, while driving or even in the middle of the night.

He grins: “I make all my prototypes on the kitchen table. I have to persuade my wife that the mess and the strong smell of glue in the house will be worth it in the end.”

But he is keen not to be portrayed as “a geek” whose work dominates his every waking hour. On the contrary he spends far more time with his family than on his creations.

Richard isn’t the only the only person at University Hospital to be inspired by Coventry’s spirit of invention – the city famously gave the world the jet engine and bicycle.

A string of other creations have been registered, copyrighted or patented by staff across the hospital.

They include the Teggy, a small toothbrush containing all the water needed to clean a bedbound patient’s mouth without making a mess.

Richard was so keen to celebrate the contribution the city made to his inventions that he named his splint the Coventry Fracture Clasp.

And he is quick to praise bosses at University Hospital for encouraging staff to be creative and supporting them to develop their ideas.

Thanks to this “culture of creativity” there could be many more medical marvels to come out of University Hospital in the years ahead. Certainly Richard’s reserves of ingenuity are showing no signs of drying up.

“I don’t like problems that are unresolved,” he muses, admitting that he is also prone to the “odd bit” of DIY around the house.

“I’m not going to try to resolve the conflict in the Middle East, but I think practical problems should have a solution. As surgeons we are presented with a broken bone and it’s our job to work out how to put it back together.”

Buoyed by his early success Richard is now working on a new plate for fixing broken ankles that will reduce the risk of infection, especially among diabetic patients. And he has plenty more ideas in the pipeline.

The surgeon stifles a secretive smile as he insists that he is “not quite ready” to talk about these yet.

But as he does so there is an unmistakable glint in his eye. It seems the seeds of Richard’s next brainchild have already been sown.